Daiwa’s JDM travel rod options include a neon green rod that’ll knock your socks off — plus a handful of other big bait options that globetrotting anglers should check out. Supplies may be limited.

Despite a pledge to do so, I have not yet conducted the rigorous test travel rod testing that I discussed late last year and early in 2021. I simply haven’t fished enough at home to give meaningful analyses, and I did not bring any multi-piece rods when we visited El Salto in June. That doesn’t mean I’ve stopped my travel rod acquisitions, though.

After my near travel rod calamity returning home from Mexico in November, I started a semi-obsessive search for the “ultimate fishing travel bag,” one that would securely accommodate enough clothing and tackle for a week of fishing, plus a 33-inch rod tube – without being considered “oversized” by the airlines.

While I don’t meet many U.S. anglers who heavily rely on travel rods, there are a surprising number U.S. brands who make and sell three- and four-piece rods suitable for placing in your luggage or carrying onto an airplane.

Swimbaits require special gear. When it comes to truly big baits, you can’t depend on most lodge/outfitter sticks, nor are they likely to provide the lures themselves. That means you have to come up with strategies to get your stuff to where the bass live. Full-sized rod tubes are an increasingly difficult proposition, and when you’re talking about rods 8 feet or longer, the odds get slimmer, so you need to find alternatives. That may mean three- or four-piece sticks.